Ngee Ann has a very interesting module that typically evokes a whole range of reactions from freshmen, especially when they find out it is compulsory for year one students. Some are excited, some are pleasantly surprised, others are disappointed or even scared. The module is Sports & Wellness (S&W).

I know what you're thinking, "PE Lessons all over again!" or "strenuous exercise!" Well, take it from a senior. :) Having been through the module in year one, I have only GOOD things to say and can attest to its many benefits. You get to keep fit, stretch the body and mind AND make new friends. What's not to like? 

The great thing about Ngee Ann, is that you get to choose which sport you want to take up, learn or just have fun playing during S&W. This way, it never gets boring for you. When i first looked at the list of S&W electives, i nearly swallowed my tongue. I'm not kidding you, the choices are crazy! You can take your pick from well-known favourites like Soccer, Basketball, Netball, Volleyball, Touch Rugby and Badminton, as well as other niche interesting activities like Hip Hop, Yoga, Dancesport, Futsal, Lifesaving and Gym Aerobics! Now, do we spoil you or what! 

Dedicated coaches guide you throughout the module and you're given ample opportunities to hone your skills (and confidence!) through CCA attachments, inter-class games and outdoor programs. And in case you don't already know, S&W isn't just about keeping fit. There's also the tiny (large for me) plus point that you get to meet lots of different people from different academic schools (wink, wink!) and build your social network on campus, which can be very useful! 

I remember getting all fidgety whenever an S&W day drew near 'cos I would have been looking forward to it all week (it's one S&W session a week, 13 sessions in one semester), and be all ready to get out into the sun and de-stress! :) So to all freshmen reading this, I really hope you'll enjoy this module and treasure every second of it! Choose a sport you like, or one that you've always wanted to learn, but never had the time, energy, or money for. What better place to do it, then at Ngee Ann? :)

It seemed like only yesterday when my friends thronged Changi Airport in what my mum best describes as “an epic national day parade formation” when they fanned out from hiding behind a pillar at the departure gate.

That’s me in the Marilyn Monroe Tee in the front row with my awesome friends who came to see me off at the airport. (-waves- HI GUYS! I MISS YOU!!) It was hard to say goodbye but an adventure awaited me.

There’s a lot to love about Hong Kong…

‘Xiao Long Baos’ (soup dumplings) the size of your fist, and the extremely efficient transportation system. Tram rides are only HK$2 aka SG$0.40 per trip!

 

INSANE SHOPPING! Cue famous Nue Yan Gai or ‘Ladies Market’ in Mongkok! And some of the most gorgeous sights! :) This is the view from my apartment window! On the left is the Hong Kong Jockey Club that has weekly horse races. On Wednesday nights, I sit on my window still sipping a drink and watch the little horsie butts in the distance. Very cute.

3am. Hong Kong by night is surreal.

Huge signboards that extend and hang over the road. Bathed in the light of Hong Kong, everything seemed fascinating, even the neon lights reflected off the harbour. :)

Another perk- trips to neighbouring countries over long weekends and public holidays! I had the opportunity to visit Macau with some friends who were also in Hong Kong. It felt kind of strange seeing so much European-inspired architecture in Asia.

But it was without a doubt, an amazing experience. Here are my favourite shots from the trip:

Cobbled streets that are so European! Macanese money (funny story about money: I’ve been so used to seeing the Hong Kong currency that when I found two 20-cent coins from back home it took me awhile to realise what they were!).

 

HUGE STACKS OF BAKKWA! Plus! Portuguese Eggtarts (or Pastel de Nata!)

   

The most famous landmark of Macau and one of my favourite places- the ruins of St. Paul’s. That's me on the right in brown crouching over to take a photo, courtesy of my good friend Jarrel.

You know what’s the most awesome thing about being here? Not only did I get to choose the company I’m attached to (alternatively most academic schools attach you to your internship companies!) but I’m also using the money from my Edusave to help finance my stay here (loads of subsidies are available too!).

Things here have definitely been a lot more different but when I leave in a couple of days, I know I will have memories to last a lifetime and the experience of working in a “foreign” environment.

Here I am at a Hewlett Packard product launch with my colleagues.

While it took awhile to get over the initial culture shock of living in a country where business is conducted in Cantonese (yes, that means every one of my work meetings and events!) things here have been nothing short of exciting and inspiring.

I sit here now taking in, for one of the last times, the breathtaking view from my cubicle. Tall, modern buildings and old, derelict ones are juxtaposed against breath-taking greenery. Behind me, a beautiful harbour beckons with ships and yachts each carrying their own little story and memories.

I cannot believe that time has passed so quickly. It's been such a great experience and as I prepare to leave for home, I can’t help but feel a pang of bittersweet longing for Hong Kong. I leave behind a piece of my heart, but am taking a lot more in return: lessons, experiences and memories that I know I will be recounting to my children and grandchildren for ages to come. :) 

CAT POWER and ANDREW BIRD were in Singapore for the Esplanade's Mosaic Series in January! 

 Photos: (Cat Power, 2007) last.fm & andrewbird.net

It would have been amazingly epic and awesome had I gone for both concerts, but alas! :(

What makes me so sore is that I HAD THE TICKETS! In fact, I bought them the day they went on sale at like 9am in the morning. I was so excited and everything but OF COURSE January just HAD to be the absolute busiest time ever for me. :(:( That means no Andrew Bird concert for me. It's a good thing my friends got me an autograph. :) LOOK!

I heard so many great things about the concert and he sang my absolute favourite song (A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left). I just wished I could have been there! For those who don't know, Bird is a Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist who sings, WHISTLES (yes, that's right) and plays the voilin, guitar and glockenspiel. For those who have no clue what that last instrument is, see pix below :)

It would have been so epic, but ah, what's a busy girl to do? :P  Anyway, enough about that. At least I had Cat Power!! Though if I had to choose between the two, it'd be Andrew Bird all the way. Yeah, I'm still bitter about missing it.

My favourites from the concert!

SO YES. Cat Power! Also known as Chan Marshall. You may have heard this folksy Atlanta-born singer-songwriter on the Juno soundtrack, or caught her in a cameo role as Jude Law's ex-girlfriend in Wong Kar-wai's 'My Blueberry Nights'. All I can say is that I was completely blown away by her voice. I won't say it was perfect, but it came close. That soulful, husky, slightly-haunting voice- it mesmerised me from beginning to end. IT WAS THAT GOOD.

She started the concert with a cover of The Animals' House of the Rising Sun which is not my favourite song, but she really turned it around for me. It sounded so good I'm now hooked on the song. I absolutely loved her performance of 'Where is My Love' and 'The Greatest'. Beautiful.

I was totally expecting some weird antics because I'd heard so much about strange Cat Power concerts overseas, but she was such a sweetheart this time round. I don't have pictures, unfortunately, but at the end of the concert, she passed out flowers to everyone in the first and second rows. I was in a cheap seat way back so I couldn't get anything, sadly, but don't you think that's a lovely touch? I don't see many artists doing stuff like that, going around personally and giving their audience gifts.

I can't wait for the rest of the concerts for the Mosaic series later in the year, especially since I'll be having a little more time on my hands. If all the artists are THIS good, it'd be amazing. I'm looking forward to The XX/Florence + the Machine, Shugo Tokumaru, Kings of Convenience and Au Revoir Simone!

What do you do when it’s your best friend’s birthday and you want to SURPRISE her? Treat her to a CHOCOLATE BUFFET, that’s what!!Feeling extravagant, I decided we would try the famed all-you-can-eat choc buffet at The Fullerton Hotel. We were too busy stuffing ourselves the whole time, so we didn’t manage to snap any food photos, but I did find these gorgeous pics on-line. Doesn’t this make your mouth water?

 Photos: sgdessert.com

I went weak in the knees when I saw all that chocolate! Lol. The first thing I did was to tweet it to make my friends jealous :P (Speaking of tweeting, I hope you guys have been following NP on Twitter! I loooooooove twitter ’cos when something really funny happens and I need to tell someone immediately, i can just tweet it. I can tweet under ANY circumstances, in the bus, in class, walking to school, in the toilet…WHEREVER! Okay, okay, I need to stop drifting off topic!

When I first saw the chocolate buffet, I was in awe. The hotel sure knew how to make it memorable :P There was variety, presentation and just the right amount of chocolate (yes, I’m sure there’s such a thing as too much chocolate in a food item). The creme brulee and super sinful Chocolate Cake are must-eats! And then, there was my fav…

Just look at THAT! Four levels of unadulterated joy! There was fruit, marshmallow, and this pastry thingy to go with the chocolate sauce. It was gooooood! (I once said the guy I marry must have a fondue in his house :P) And of course, the highlight of the chocolate buffet - making your own hot chocolate drink! This isn’t just ANY old drink…

I admit the chocolate buffet might have burnt quite a hole in my pocket, but the chocolate and the experience? Absolutely worth it!

For a preview, check out this vid I found on-line :D

First things first, I confess. I'm a HUGE Robert Downey Jr. fan. And not just from when he acted as Tony Stark aka Iron Man, oh no. I've followed the man faithfully since his first role as a puppy in 1970's Pound (ok not that I was even born then, but you get the drift), and caught many of his less-than-awesome films. So obviously I could not stay away from watching the new movie Sherlock Holmes, bad ratings (2 stars, according to Life!, 64% on Rotten Tomatoes last time I checked) and dodgy rumours (possible more-than-friends relationship between Holmes and his loyal companion for one) notwithstanding.

Doesn't hurt that the rest of the cast includes...JUDE LAW! (Loved him since I saw him as a child in Gattaca) and Rachel McAdams (she looked sooo good). YES, I AM SHALLOW. :P

Anyway, if you're expecting a typical Sherlock Holmes story "about the world's most famous and recognized fictional detective", don't. I've never been a huge fan of the books, but I know enough to know that this movie is ANYTHING but the Sherlock Holmes as written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (Random fact: My entire family loves Mr Holmes, so it's really a surprise that I've never been interested. Most of what I read about him comes from the internet). In any case, this movie is directed by Guy Ritchie (post-Madonna) so it's probably safe to assume the film should be pretty alright.

The plot of the movie goes as such: bad guy dabbles in the occult, kills off a couple of girls as 'sacrifices' and has an insane plan to take over the world (or something). Bombs! Explosions! Fights! (there's a very Fight Club-esque scene where RDJ and some big guy exchange blows while surrounded by a ring of cheering men) Mystery is solved with a lot of action...

Yeah, the plot isn't exactly mind-blowing. It's actually typical-action-adventure-mystery, though it wasn't that mysterious. I guess it's because everything was too well-explained and expected.

There are some funny moments here and there. RDJ's British accent made me laugh a little, as his film accents always do, like his Australian one in Natural Born Killers (1994) and Tropic Thunder (2008). I couldn't tell if Rachel McAdams was supposed to be American with a faux (and very, very fail) British accent, or just British 'cos she simply sounded WEIRD. Her 'accent', if you can even call it that, was all over the place. I guess that's why she didn't get many lines (honestly, she had, like, 10).

Jude Law and RDJ were cute though.

My favourite part was when they bickered like an old married couple (this is from memory so it might not be completely accurate): "You've never complained about my methods before!" "I never complain! When have I complained about you practicing your violin at 3 in the morning, or your mess, your lack of hygiene, or the fact that you steal my clothes!?" I will admit it made me laugh because it's so... typical!

I haven't seen a Jude Law movie in ages so it was really nice watching this and remembering why I liked him so much last time (I even liked him as that very fey robot in A.I.!) and everyone needs to watch that clip of him reading Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face' like he was at a poetry reading.

Well ANYWAY (I do go on too much), the movie really isn't bad. I wouldn't say it's the best film of 2009 or anything (no way, that goes to District 9 or Inglourious Basterds for sure. Or Up, or A Serious Man, or Star Trek, or... okay I'm going to go on forever) but it's certainly enjoyable enough! It's typical popcorn fare, plus it has lots of eye-candy.

We wanna say a big THANK YOU to all visitors (more than 16,000!) who participated in our hugely successive Open House last week! We met lots of enthusiastic secondary school students, teachers and parents and made many new friends!

Over 3 days from 7 to 9 January 2010, visitors had the opportunity to check out our academic schools and state-of-the-art facilities via campus discovery tours.

School of Business & Accountancy                                               School of Film & Media Studies

School of Humanities                                                                     School of Life Sciences & Chemical Technology     

 School of Infocomm Technology                                                  School of Health Sciences

School of Engineering 

Course counselling was available at NP’s Convention Centre so visitors could meet and chat with our lecturers and students about our 47 diploma courses. Not surprisingly, we got loads of enquiries about our three new diplomas in Veterinary Bioscience, Arts Business Management and Sustainable Urban Design & Engineering, as well as our new Engineering with Business Management Programme!

Our CCA Fiesta took on new heights this year with a slew of exciting, new highlights. For the first time ever, Open House visitors were given access to Ngee Ann’s very own Adventure Park. Led by CCA groups X-Ventures and Outward Bounders, students tried thrilling activities like parafan (a 3-storey high confidence jump), flying fox, abseiling and rock-climbing.

Over at NP’s new interactive and digital media haven Studio27, our Photography Club shutterbugs helped to fulfill many an aspiring model’s dream! All you had to do was flash your best pose at our pro studio...

Our Song Composing Club was also on hand to help visitors record their very own original demos at Studio27! Talk about living your rockstar dream!

...and you got to take home a special free ‘Teenage’ magazine cover featuring yourself as the cover model! Cool, eh?

There were free goodie bags…

...free donuts, free cotton candy, free popcorn, free ice-cream, and (this is our favourite part) free NP tees! All you gotta do is yell 'I Lurve NP!' into the videocam (see below) and you get a free rockin' hot Ngee Ann tee!

We also had a host of special guests joining us for Open House! NP’s School of Film & Media Studies organised a talk on ‘Careers in the Media’ and invited reporters from TODAY newspaper and presenters from 938LIVE radio and Channel News Asia to be guest speakers.

Campus Superstar 3 runner-up Cai Ai Jia thrilled the crowd at NP’s atrium with Mandopop tunes while Rai (of Jack & Rai) and Alvin (of 53A) brought the house down with songs like 'Viva La Vida' (Coldplay) and the wonderful 'Falala Song' (Jack and Rai).

We also laid out the red carpet for the nominees of FMS’ inaugural m:idea Youth Choice Awards and our very own celeb grads! (more on this in Shaun’s post!)

Ngee Ann Poly’s Open House 2010 ended with a bang at our first-ever OH Movie Under the Stars! (see Shaun’s post), attended by more than 600 visitors who caught Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen absolutely free!

We sure hope everyone had as much fun discovering Ngee Ann as we did showing you our absolutely fabulous poly!

Hope to see you again at NP!

By Guest Bloggers Shermaine Yeo, Nathaniel Phua, Isaac Tan & Janelle

They say 'save the best for last' and if you ask me, that aptly describes day three of Ngee Ann's Open House last Saturday. I was the co-host of NP’s inaugural m:idea Youth Choice Awards (MCYA) with my schoolmate Candice Miller (Okto Live! and Kids Central) and oh man, the event was awesome!

Ok, for those who have no clue what I’m going on about, m:idea is Singapore's first media conglomerate run entirely by students (yep, Year 3 Mass Communication students from NP’s School of Film & Media Studies). Seen the cool magazine 'HYPE' at shops like 77^th street? That’s just one of m:idea’s many works.

To mark m:idea's first anniversary and its official launch, we decided to organise MYCA, a month-long event where ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY could vote (didn’t matter if you're 5 or 50, NP student or not) for 12 fun categories like ‘Band I Wanna Throw Myself At’ and ‘Cutest Male Personality I Wanna Bring Home’. We were so ‘on’ about this we even did a vid to encourage everyone to vote! I can’t watch it without laughing. Isn’t the m:idea team FUN?!

The event culminated in the awards show on 9 Jan at Ngee Ann Poly’s Atrium where nominees like ESPN Star Sports presenter Jamie Yeo, Muttons (987 DJs Justin Ang and Vernon A), Rai from music duo Jack and Rai, Singapore’s only female professional magician ‘Magic Babe Ning’ and former Miss Singapore World Ris Low took to the red carpet.

Muttons                                                       Rai & Jamie                                        'Magic Babe Ning'

When MTV VJ Utt made his grand appearance, everyone went a little crazy.

guess who's the chap behind Utt? :)

I think the roti prata uncle from the nearby Al Ameen probably heard the girls' in the crowd shrieking. I’m not kidding you. The uncle was recording a video with his hand phone throughout the awards show, saying he 'needed to capture the moment'.

I was really excited, yet nervous (did I say that again?) hosting an awards show in front of all these stars (who are all real nice!) During the press call (which had excellent food!) the celebs themselves kept telling us that the event went really, really well.

Obviously, that made me feel good and for the rest of the night, I couldn’t quite wipe the grin off my face! Here’s the list of m:idea Youth Choice Awards winners:

• Band I Wanna Throw Myself At: Jack & Rai
• Coolest Blogger I Wanna Gossip With (xoxo): Fauzi Rassull
• Best OMG! Moment: Ris Low – Boomz
• Favourite Hangout Spot: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
• Favourite Bookstore: Borders
• Favourite Mobile Phone Brand: Apple
• Favourite Apparel: Topshop/Topman
• Favourite Nightspot: Timbre
• Hottest Female Personality I Wanna Date: Denise Keller
• Cutest Male Personality I Wanna Bring Home: Utt
• Celebrity Duo I Wanna Chill With: Muttons (DJs Justin Ang & Vernon A. from MediaCorp Radio 987FM)

After the Midea Youth Choice Awards, we headed for the open field for yet another fun actvity. Last month, we conducted an e-poll on this site, asking visitors to vote for the movie they most wanna watch on 9 Jan at NP. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen beat Star Wars, Hotel for Dogs and Monsters vs Aliens hands down to become the top-voted film. And soooo, we had a giant, mega movie screening of Transformers!

In other words, a BIG Megan Fox was at Ngee Ann's field. Heh heh heh. We couldn’t have asked for better weather! It was a cool, breezy night and more than 600 gathered for the free movie.

Free popcorn, free donuts and free drinks were being given out and thanks to sponsors like Singtel, UIP and Teenage Magazine, we had tons of fab prizes and giveaways too. We were blown away by some truly cool contestants who gamely danced up a storm for our audience.

I sure can’t wait for next year’s Open House!